Lake County Sheriff's Department Chief of Police Gary Martin flew by
helicopter to the Porter County sheriff's office to gracefully accept
defeat in the Battle of the Badges blood drive.

But
first he had to read a resolution that said: "The Porter County
Sheriff's Department, utilizing Valparaiso grammar school students, jail
inmates and coroner's cases, were able to defeat the Lake County
Sheriff's Department."

OK,
Martin had trouble taking defeat. But he and Porter County Chief Deputy
Dave Lain were both glad to help the American Red Cross by contributing
a total of 217 units of blood during the June 2 event. Porter County
edged its rival with a score of 126 to 91. Lake County won last year.
The difference, said Lake County's Red Cross Donor Recruitment
Representative Lori Caputo, was that "Porter County really pushed it
into the community," though not with coroners' cases.
The
summer holidays, which start after Memorial Day, are hard on blood
banks: There are more car accidents and fewer donors around because
they're off on vacation.
"It seems like we're always begging, but holidays are the worst," Porter
County's Donor Recruitment Representative Gail Atkinson said.
The sheriffs are happy to help out, as long as they can get bragging
rights over one another.